taking a break

Simply enjoying these 2 days away from the restaurant. For some
reason, this past weekend was a tad more stressful than the norm.
There could be various reasons for that - we are coming up on the
holiday season, and folks are getting worked up over how they will
spend them, and how much they will need to spend. TV commercials
and ads in newspapers and magazines drown you in what you simply
MUST have, especially for the holidays. The weather just makes you
dizzy how it yo-yo's, so that may be another factor for mood swings -
in Virginia we can have 40 degree swings in 24 hours (and HOW do
you dress for that?!?!). At least my buddy Lola in Alaska has just one
kind of temperature....COLD. I actually saw a SUV with Alaska plates
going down the road the other day here, someone getting away from
the upcoming winter there, or just a student at the local university?
I always scan the license plates of cars around me when I am driving,
in part to see the not so common ones, like the aforementioned Alaska,
or Montana, Utah or Idaho. I also like to see the new plates that certain
states come out with; most recently I saw a new Kentucky design. But
as far as new designs go, I think no state has the number of different
plates that Virginia does. It seems like every week a new one comes
out; if I am correct, there are over 180 different plate designs to
choose from. I SERIOUSLY doubt any other state comes close (please
advise me if you know otherwise). I mean, there is even a parrothead
plate for Jimmy Buffett fans! Is that absurd or what? Does Virginia
really need a parrothead plate? I know I am riling J.B. fans, but get
real for goodness sakes! There is even a plate for Harley owners, oh,
but wait, don't want to get on their bad side! And to top it all off,
Virginia, I am sure, has the lead in the number of personalized plates.
Some are cute, others mundane (usually those found on mini-vans!),
some just dumb, to the point that you sit there at the traffic light
trying to decipher it, trying to figure out WHAT on EARTH the
owner is trying to say. I used to have personalized plates when I was
younger, but have gotten away from that now. I do still have one of
the designer plates, I think it is called Heritage, the one with the
dogwood and cardinal (Virginia's flower and bird). The Heritage was
on of the first new plates to come out, along with the equally pretty
Scenic Mountain to Seashore one (had that one in the past). But
now I could have a Friends of Tibet plate, or the one proclaiming
Virginia as the Internet Capital.....so many choices, too few cars!